Two arrested in suspected magazine subscription fraud

Two Medford residents were arrested on suspicion of fraudulently selling magazine and book subscriptions in Shady Cove, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department said in a press release today.

Patrick Dow, 26, and Ashley Chiasson, 27, were arrested Saturday after police responded to a call of a suspicious female selling subscriptions along Highway 62.

Several witnesses claimed a woman was going door to door selling subscriptions and telling prospective customers the proceeds would go to a children's hospital of their choice, the release said. One victim put a stop-payment on her check after becoming suspicious the sale was a scam.

Dow and Chiasson were detained at Wells Fargo on Crater Lake Highway in Medford Saturday afternoon after they tried to cash a check that had a stop-payment notification. Sheriff's deputies found receipts on the pair totaling $4,687. Chiasson told deputies they had been living off the proceeds and had $200 left.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Dow and Chiasson on charges of first-degree theft and conspiracy to commit theft. They were lodged in the Jackson County Jail but have since been released, according to jail records.